Literature Review

Assignment Overview

Each section draft is intended to get you started on your prospectus. Basically, these act as mini-versions of specific sections of the prospectus itself - in this case, the Focused Literature Review. This is often an extensive section of the prospectus, but for this draft, focus on contextualizing your research within existing scholarship and aim for a 3-4 page overview.

Purpose

This focused literature review should demonstrate how you situate your project within existing scholarship and clearly articulate what new contribution your research will make. Remember, this is not a comprehensive literature review—that will appear in your full dissertation. Instead, this section provides essential contextualization for your committee to understand your project’s place in the scholarly conversation.

Key Components

Your focused literature review should address two essential elements:

Current Scholarly Debates

What do scholars already know about your topic?

Provide a well-focused summary of the current debate(s) in your chosen subfield. This section should:

• Identify the key conversations and controversies in your area of research
• Show how different scholars have approached your topic or related questions
• Demonstrate your understanding of where the field currently stands
• Highlight areas of consensus and disagreement among scholars
• Allow your committee to see how you situate your project in existing literature

Specific Contributions and Positioning

How will your research contribute to existing knowledge?

Outline in precise terms the specific contribution(s) your dissertation will make to the subfield:

• If studying a neglected subject: Specify what part of that subject has been missed, and how your study will fill the gap
• If building on existing literature: Say what has been achieved, and how your proposal adds to it
• If conducting case studies: Justify your selection of cases with reference to theory and explain why these particular cases matter
• Research focus: Include specific subjects or questions your project intends to investigate, with rationale for developing these

Structure Guidelines

Organization Approach

• Begin with broader scholarly conversations and narrow to your specific contribution
• Organize thematically around key debates rather than chronologically or source-by-source
• Show clear connections between different scholarly positions
• Maintain focus on literature most directly relevant to your project

Contextualization vs. Comprehensiveness

• This should contextualize your research, not review literature comprehensively
• Focus on scholarship that directly informs your research questions and methodology
• Include foundational works that established key concepts or approaches
• Emphasize recent scholarship that represents current thinking in the field

Submission Instructions

Submit your focused literature review through Webcourses as a Word document or PDF. Use clear subheadings to organize your discussion of current debates and your specific contributions. Ensure proper academic citations throughout and include a bibliography of all sources referenced.